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. 2020 Oct 16:11:562995.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562995. eCollection 2020.

What Do Football Players Look at? An Eye-Tracking Analysis of the Visual Fixations of Players in 11 v 11 Elite Football Match Play

Karl Marius Aksum  1 , Lukas Magnaguagno  2 , Christian Thue Bjørndal  1 , Geir Jordet  1
Affiliations

What Do Football Players Look at? An Eye-Tracking Analysis of the Visual Fixations of Players in 11 v 11 Elite Football Match Play

Karl Marius Aksum et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Current knowledge of gaze behavior in football has primarily originated from eye-tracking research in laboratory settings. Using eye-tracking with elite players in a real-world 11 v 11 football game, this exploratory case study examined the visual fixations of midfield players in the Norwegian premier league. A total of 2,832 fixations by five players, aged 17-23 years (M = 19.84), were analyzed. Our results show that elite football midfielders increased their fixation duration when more information sources became available to them. Additionally, participants used shorter fixation durations than previously reported in laboratory studies. Furthermore, significant differences in gaze behavior between the attack and defense phases were found for both areas of interest and fixation location. Lastly, fixation locations were mainly on the ball, opponent, and teammate category and the player in possession of the ball. Combined, the results of this study enhance the knowledge of how elite footballers use their vision when playing under actual match-play conditions. They also suggest that laboratory designs may not be able to capture the dynamic environment that footballers experience in competition.

Keywords: ecological; experts; exploratory; football (soccer); in situ; perception; visual fixations.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The head unit (1) and recording unit (2) of the Tobii Pro Glasses 2. Printed with permission.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Picture of a gaze-overlaid video from Tobii Pro Lab. Printed with permission.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of viewing time (M and SE) in defense (A) and attack (B) as a function of areas of interest (zero, one, two, and three) and distance (near and far).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of viewing time (M and SE) in defense (A) and attack (B) as a function of fixation location and distance (near and far). B/O/T, ball, opponent, and teammate; PiP, ball and opponent or ball and teammate; B/T, ball and teammate; B, ball; O/T, opponent and teammate; T, teammate; O, opponent; S, space.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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